Buck Ram (born Samuel Ram on November 21, 1907, in Chicago, Illinois - died January 1, 1991, in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an influential American songwriter, producer, and arranger whose contributions to popular music are widely recognized. Born to Jewish parents, Ram's impact on the history of rock and roll is notable, with his achievements placing him among BMI's top five songwriters based on airplay during its first 50 years, alongside contemporaries such as Paul Simon, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Webb, and Paul McCartney.
Ram's extensive career included writing, producing, and arranging for legendary acts like The Platters, The Coasters, The Drifters, Ike and Tina Turner, Ike Cole, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and Ella Fitzgerald. He is particularly remembered for his significant role with The Platters, a doo-wop group whose success can be attributed to Ram’s extensive connections within the music industry, including songwriters, publishers, agents, and artists. Initially a talent manager at his own company, Personality Productions, and a saxophonist in a dance band, Ram discovered Tony Williams, the brother of one of his clients, during an audition. Recognizing Williams’s distinctive voice, Ram built The Platters around him, as the other group members struggled to achieve the harmonious sound he desired.
Ram arranged and produced all of The Platters' recordings from their signing with Mercury Records until his passing. He penned their most notable hits, such as "Only You (And You Alone)," "The Great Pretender," "Magic Touch," and "Twilight Time." Notably, when Mercury planned to release "Only You" under its "race music" label, Ram insisted on a redesign of the label, arguing that The Platters deserved broader recognition. Mercury acquiesced, which helped to dismantle racial barriers in the music industry and paved the way for black groups in the 1960s and beyond.
The lyrics for "The Great Pretender" were famously written by Ram in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after he was asked what The Platters' follow-up to "Only You" would be. In 1987, when Freddie Mercury's version of the song reached #4 in England, Ram was unaware of who he was but was pleased to see his song charting again, thirty-one years after its original release by The Platters. He also wrote "The Magic Touch," the lyrics for "Come Prima (For the First Time)," "Chew Chew Chew Your Bubble Gum" (in collaboration with Ella Fitzgerald), "Remember When," and "Ring Telephone Ring," among other works.
Ram’s career was not without controversy, particularly concerning the classic "I'll Be Home for Christmas." The song’s credits on Bing Crosby's recording list Kent, Gannon, and Ram, while later versions typically cite only Kent and Gannon. This discrepancy arose because Ram copyrighted a different version of the song in 1942, titled "I'll Be Home for Christmas (Tho' Just in Memory)." Meanwhile, Kent and Gannon's version was copyrighted in 1943 and became the standard made famous by Crosby. Ram claimed that he originally wrote the lyrics as a gift for his mother when he was a sixteen-year-old college student. His publisher delayed the release of his song to prioritize Irving Berlin's "White Christmas." Ram accidentally left a copy of his song with Kent and Gannon in a bar, but he did not discuss it further. When the song was released, both Ram and his publisher were taken aback, leading to a successful lawsuit.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, who were known for appropriating the work of others, Ram was primarily a songwriter, with his management and production duties secondary. The Platters and other groups he managed, such as the Flares, served as platforms for getting his songs recorded. He often credited singers with his compositions. Another notable controversy involved "Twilight Time," which was originally an instrumental by the Three Suns. After Ram added lyrics and turned it into a hit, the Three Suns sued, resulting in a court ruling that required the original writers' names to be included, but Ram was not found liable for infringement.
